How to add spacing between UITableViewCell

Is there any way to add spacing between UITableViewCell?

I have created a table and each cell only contain an image. The image is assigned to the cell like this:

cell.imageView.image = [myImages objectAtIndex:indexPath.row];

but this make the image enlarged and fit into the whole cell, and there are no spacing between the images.

Or lets say in this way, the height of image are e.g. 50, and I want to add 20 spacing between the images. Is there any way to accomplish this?

My easy solution using Swift :

// Inside UITableViewCell subclass

override func layoutSubviews() {
    super.layoutSubviews()

    contentView.frame = contentView.frame.inset(by: UIEdgeInsets(top: 10, left: 10, bottom: 10, right: 10))
}

Result

Swift Version

Updated for Swift 3

This answer is somewhat more general than the original question for the sake of future viewers. It is a supplemental example to the basic UITableView example for Swift.

Overview

The basic idea is to create a new section (rather than a new row) for each array item. The sections can then be spaced using the section header height.

How to do it

• Set up your project as described in UITableView example for Swift. (That is, add a UITableView and hook up the tableView outlet to the View Controller).

• In the Interface Builder, change the main view background color to light blue and the UITableView background color to clear.

• Replace the ViewController.swift code with the following.

ViewController.swift

import UIKit
class ViewController: UIViewController, UITableViewDelegate, UITableViewDataSource {
    
    // These strings will be the data for the table view cells
    let animals: [String] = ["Horse", "Cow", "Camel", "Sheep", "Goat"]
    
    let cellReuseIdentifier = "cell"
    let cellSpacingHeight: CGFloat = 5
    
    @IBOutlet var tableView: UITableView!
    
    override func viewDidLoad() {
        super.viewDidLoad()
        
        // These tasks can also be done in IB if you prefer.
        self.tableView.register(UITableViewCell.self, forCellReuseIdentifier: cellReuseIdentifier)
        tableView.delegate = self
        tableView.dataSource = self
    }
    
    // MARK: - Table View delegate methods
    
    func numberOfSections(in tableView: UITableView) -> Int {
        return self.animals.count
    }
    
    // There is just one row in every section
    func tableView(_ tableView: UITableView, numberOfRowsInSection section: Int) -> Int {
        return 1
    }
    
    // Set the spacing between sections
    func tableView(_ tableView: UITableView, heightForHeaderInSection section: Int) -> CGFloat {
        return cellSpacingHeight
    }
    
    // Make the background color show through
    func tableView(_ tableView: UITableView, viewForHeaderInSection section: Int) -> UIView? {
        let headerView = UIView()
        headerView.backgroundColor = UIColor.clear
        return headerView
    }
    
    // create a cell for each table view row
    func tableView(_ tableView: UITableView, cellForRowAt indexPath: IndexPath) -> UITableViewCell {
        
        let cell:UITableViewCell = self.tableView.dequeueReusableCell(withIdentifier: cellReuseIdentifier) as UITableViewCell!
        
        // note that indexPath.section is used rather than indexPath.row
        cell.textLabel?.text = self.animals[indexPath.section]
        
        // add border and color
        cell.backgroundColor = UIColor.white
        cell.layer.borderColor = UIColor.black.cgColor
        cell.layer.borderWidth = 1
        cell.layer.cornerRadius = 8
        cell.clipsToBounds = true
        
        return cell
    }
    
    // method to run when table view cell is tapped
    func tableView(_ tableView: UITableView, didSelectRowAt indexPath: IndexPath) {
        // note that indexPath.section is used rather than indexPath.row
        print("You tapped cell number \(indexPath.section).")
    }
}

Note that indexPath.section is used rather than indexPath.row in order to get the proper values for the array elements and tap positions.

How did you get the extra padding/space on the right and left?

I got it the same way you add spacing to any view. I used auto layout constraints. Just use the pin tool in the Interface Builder to add spacing for the leading and trailing constraints.

The way I achieve adding spacing between cells is to make numberOfSections = "Your array count" and make each section contains only one row. And then define headerView and its height.

- (NSInteger)numberOfSectionsInTableView:(UITableView *)tableView
{
    return yourArry.count;
}

- (NSInteger)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView numberOfRowsInSection:(NSInteger)section
{
    return 1;
}

-(CGFloat)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView heightForHeaderInSection:(NSInteger)section
{
    return cellSpacingHeight;
}

-(UIView *)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView viewForHeaderInSection:(NSInteger)section
{
    UIView *v = [UIView new];
    [v setBackgroundColor:[UIColor clearColor]];
    return v;
}